I was floored to be recognized earlier in the year with an Inspire award for women in small business. The women nominated this year (and every year) were outstanding. I genuinely thought I had zero chance of receiving the award. I was fully prepared to go to the event, enjoy my salad, and smile politely when the name in my category was announced. I think it took me a full minute to stand up when they called my name. I simply didn’t believe it.\
And you know what, I have a sneaking suspicion most women nominated felt the same way. That they aren’t in “the league” of the other nominees. That damn imposter syndrome soaks in every ounce of our female beings.
And then, a few months later I got nominated for an Impact Award through Vistage, and barely told anyone about it because it was “too soon” after my last recognition.
That makes me sad.
Even after all the work we’ve done to build each other up, to tout our worth, to lean into our power, at the end of the day too many women still feel like me. That they aren’t deserving of recognition.
I want so deeply for there to be real change here. What will it take? I wish I knew. I wish this blog was about the top 3 tips to get out of your “I’m undeserving” head and into your space of “I am more than f’ing deserving” light. But I’m still working on that.
What I did instead was take this gift and reflect on what it means to be inspiring.
How do you most meaningfully uplift others and encourage them along on their journey? How do you best use your words and actions to inspire?
Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
So that’s what I have so far. My next goal on this inspiration journey is to get nominated for something and feel deserving, right out of the gate, so that every young lady that comes after me (whom I’ve had the fortune of knowing) feels the same. I can’t think of any life work more important, more inspirational to keep going, than that.